The use of wireless devices, such as cellular telephones or personal digital assistants (PDA), by drivers who talk on the phone or send or read text messages while driving is thought to be a cause of distracted, erratic, and/or aggressive driving, especially among teenage drivers, and is believed to increase the likelihood of accidents. Some cities restrict cellular phone use while driving or require that drivers use hands-free mode on their wireless phone to talk while driving. Other cities are considering restricting the use of text messaging applications while driving.
Additionally, parents desire to monitor their children's driving and cellular phone use, and fleet owners or insurance companies desire to monitor drivers' cellular phone use for liability purposes.
As shown in FIG. 1, using a driving simulator, Ford compared the response of teenage and adult drivers to traffic events happening in front of them. As shown on the left portion of the chart, both groups of drivers missed about 3% of potentially dangerous events under normal simulated driving conditions. When placing a phone call using a handheld device, as shown on the right portion of the chart, the rate of missed events rose to 13.6% for adult drivers and to 53.8% for teenage drivers.
Therefore, there is a need to improve driver behavior and safety with respect to the use of wireless devices in moving vehicles.